Kosher Indian Delights

Indian spices and an entirely new way to see rice in your kosher kitchen.

Excerpted from Remaining Kosher Volume One: A Cookbook for All with a Hechsher in Their Heart

One of my many quests in writing Remaining Kosher Volume One is showing the vibrant pulse of kosher cooking at this present moment: a more energetic and elastic cooking that can tumble with ease onto your plates. This cookbook taps into a vital flow that happens as sure as any charged electrical current.

This flow runs underneath a proverbial ancient highway, linking up many cultures’ traditional recipes and right on through the mezuzah guarded door.

Remaining Kosher begins with a glimmering of brother spice blends and sister spice pastes recipes as they have been used over many lifetimes – often through other people’s grandmothers and then their children. Most of these blends and pastes are simply not available kosher.

These recipes will become resources that punch up taste and, just as important, maximize your time. The purchase of a small inexpensive electric coffee grinder will get you into the habit of blending spices with ease.

I begin these recipes choices by transporting your kitchen into the heart of an Indian spice bazaar by making a spice blend known as Garam Masala. In the Indian Spiced Roasted Turkey Breast recipe, this blend will give birth to a paste and an entirely new way to see a roasted turkey breast.

The recipe for Basmati Rice and Chickpea Flour Dumplings is ample proof that we can redirect the everyday flow of cooking thoughts and unleash an entirely new way to see rice in your kosher kitchen.

Finally, the food world is brimming with untold dessert riches without shortchanging your sensations by using faux kosher substitutions. In the included cake recipe, olive oil is deliciously redirected to a conversation started long ago in Italy and Spain.

Enjoy!

Garam Masala

One rite of passage for Indian cooks is learning to become a masalchi, or spice blender. I suggest that this very action may be one part of the ongoing conversation in Remaining Kosher.

You, too, can become your own spice blender.

Buying a small electric coffee grinder will get you into this habit with ease.

These grinders are cheap and cheerful – they accommodate your household and provide the hard currency of fresh spices.

Spices are still precious commodities: simply stated, they awaken a sleepy palate.

Garam Masala is a blend of spices – there is a careless freedom to it. Most Indian housewives make their own blend. You, too, can share this living connection.

I give you a starting recipe that has poise and balance. I assure you that Garam Masala will amplify whatever you sprinkle it on.

The point is this: you may heighten the spice with your own emphasis.

I use the bottom of a small frying pan to break up the cinnamon stick before placing in the toasting pan.

I also introduce you to Szechuan peppercorns.

Honestly, these are a world away from any reference point for what you may think are peppercorns.

Szechuan peppercorns are the fruit of the prickly ash.

They are small and round, yet have an explosive seed in the middle.

And they are not really part of the peppercorn family.

But Szechuan peppercorns tell the tale, enlivening our blend and your tongue by adding a hint of citrus.

Find Szechuan peppercorns at the Chinese grocery; find the green cardamom seeds at your Indian grocer.

Simply stated, they are well worth the excursion.

However, don’t deny the fragrant additions to your own blended Garam Masala for your spice shelf.

The first blend simply represents my continuing conversation with the masalchi that resides within me.

All the ingredients for the second blend are at your normal grocer. This blend is wise and sturdy, mirroring an Indian bazaar.

Basmati Rice and Chickpea Flour Dumplings

We live in a rice-eating world. There are so many varieties of rice from many parts of the world. Walk into an Indian grocery – they are everywhere now – sacks of rice assume their importance by being presented near the entrance.

A rice paradise awaits: you will have direct contact with a remarkable staple food that many in the world take for granted.

Basmati rice is different. Have you cooked real basmati?

Once cooked, the grain is elegantly long and narrow. It bears no resemblance to our common vision of rice.

The basmati rice is first washed and soaked to insure the grains cook evenly. The final taste perks your interest: it enchants.

Known as besan flour in India, I am again calling upon chickpea flour to perform one of its many gluten free tricks. Find this flour at health food stores or an Indian grocer.

Here, chickpea flour is made into a dumpling.

Kindred spirits of the matzoh ball, these dumplings are quicker to cook. While existing in the same universe as any dumpling, these are not soup oriented.

The dumplings in this recipe are there to add a lusty and weighty presence into the mix. These are bite-size card-carrying carbohydrates.

The dough is sticky! How to handle and tame? Oiled palms make all the difference. Your hands will be mirroring what has been done in India for a thousand years.

This dumpling recipe is terrific for a first time novice. I am interested in you partaking in the fun.

To really get a taste and the feel of South Indian cooking, add in ¼ teaspoon of your own Garam Masala; or a teaspoon of green chopped chilies.

I am so sure that you will enjoy learning to make these dumplings: they are included in two recipes – the other in this chapter: Cashew Yogurt Curry.

In this recipe, the dumplings are embedded and cooked along with fragrant basmati rice.

Indians know how to cook rice. You will want to use this method again and again.

In a bowl, cover the basmati rice with water. Drain. Repeat two more times.

Place into 2½ cups of water and soak for 20 minutes.

When ready to proceed: place your saucepan over medium heat, add in the ghee (dairy) or vegetable oil (parve).

Add the cumin and mustard seeds and let sizzle for 15 seconds.

With a rubber spatula, scrape the rice (along with its 2½ cups of water) into the saucepan. Add the salt and stir for 5 seconds.

Finishing

If using: add in the cut chickpea flour dumplings (dairy). Stir again to gently mix with the rice.

Bring the saucepan contents to a boil, then cover. Adjust the heat to low and cook the rice for 15 minutes.

Let the rice sit covered on a cool burner for another 10 minutes: it will continue to cook.

Uncover, salt and pepper to taste.

Serving

Place the rice and dumplings into a covered dish and bring to the table.

Indian Spiced Roasted Turkey Breast

If you will, a turkey breast with attitude. There are no vague results here. All of the spices being used will eagerly persuade the neutral turkey to like its exotic setting and have a little more conviction.

I call upon a simple Garam Masala Spice Blend #2. The food processor will then be used to blend both the dry spices with the wet spices to form a paste.

The pleasant pursuit of a wet marinade always enlivens any food preparation.

The turkey breast sits for a few hours in the spice paste while bagged in the fridge. The bag’s chamber contributes considerably to the spice paste courtship and acceptance.

The cold leftovers are just delicious the next day. It is perfect food for Sabbath day sandwiches.

Place both oranges and lemons in a saucepan. Cover with cold water; bring to a boil on the stove. Simmer covered for at least 45 minutes.

Discard the water. Place the boiled fruit on a paper towel and cool.

Cut a circle of parchment the same size as the bottom of your cake pan. Place the parchment circle on the bottom of the pan. Brush the pan with olive oil and then dust with flour. Shake out excess. Set aside.

Toast the pine nuts in an oven (or toaster oven) at 350 °F until the nuts are golden brown. (Attention!)

Dice the mango and pineapple.

In a bowl, pre-sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape all its inner “caviar” atop the cup of sugar.

Hint: place the used pods in your sugar canister.

Cut the cooked fruit in half. Use a teaspoon to scoop out all the insides of each half and discard. You will use the rind.

Place the cooked rind, dried fruit, sugar and vanilla bean into the food processor bowl and purée.

Stop the machine and scrape down the sides and continue, processing for about a minute. With a rubber spatula, scrape out the puréed ingredients into bowl.

Finishing

Preheat oven to 350 °F (convection if available).

Place all the ingredients near the standing mixer. Attach the whisk.

Break and check the eggs. Add into the standing mixer bowl. Beat the eggs on high speed until they are very fluffy: about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the fruit purée. Beat on a higher speed until the mixture is pale and holds a shape: about another 2 minutes.

On a lower speed, beat in the flour until just incorporated. Beat in the olive oil.

Finally, add in the toasted pine nuts. Stir with a rubber spatula to insure there are no hidden flour pockets.

Fill your mold with the cake batter. Even out the surface with the back of the rubber spatula.

Place the mold in the middle of the oven and bake for 50 minutes: an inserted skewer or knife will come out clean when the cake is done.

Cool to room temperature.

Serving

Place a plate over the mold, flip and slip the cake out of the mold.

Remove the parchment paper. Flip again onto a serving platter.

Use a fine mesh strainer to sprinkle powdered sugar generously on the cake top.

I live in rural Montana where the Cholov Yisrael milk is difficult to obtain and very expensive. So I drink regular milk. What is your view on this?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Jewish law requires that there be rabbinic supervision during the milking process to ensure that the milk comes from a kosher animal. In the United States, many people rely on the Department of Agriculture's regulations and controls as sufficiently stringent to fulfill the rabbinic requirement for supervision.

Most of the major Kashrut organizations in the United States rely on this as well. You will therefore find many kosher products in America certified with a 'D' next to the kosher symbol. Such products – unless otherwise specified on the label – are not Cholov Yisrael and are assumed kosher based on the DOA's guarantee.

There are many, however, do not rely on this, and will eat only dairy products that are designated as Cholov Yisrael (literally, "Jewish milk"). This is particularly true in large Jewish communities, where Cholov Yisrael is widely available.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that under limited conditions, such as an institution which consumes a lot of milk and Cholov Yisrael is generally unavailable or especially expensive, American milk is acceptable, as the government supervision is adequate to prevent non-kosher ingredients from being added.

It should be added that the above only applies to milk itself, which is marketed as pure cow's milk. All other dairy products, such as cheeses and butter, may contain non-kosher ingredients and always require kosher certification. In addition, Rabbi Feinstein's ruling applies only in the United States, where government regulations are considered reliable. In other parts of the world, including Europe, Cholov Yisrael is a requirement.

There are additional esoteric reasons for being stringent regarding Cholov Yisrael, and because of this it is generally advisable to consume only Cholov Yisroel dairy foods.

In 1889, 800 Jews arrived in Buenos Aires, marking the birth of the modern Jewish community in Argentina. These immigrants were fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina. Juan Peron's rise to power in 1946 was an ominous sign, as he was a Nazi sympathizer with fascist leanings. Peron halted Jewish immigration to Argentina, introduced mandatory Catholic religious instruction in public schools, and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. (In 1960, Israeli agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from a Buenos Aires suburb.) Today, Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America with 250,000, though terror attacks have prompted many young people to emigrate. In 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 32 people. In 1994, the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people. The perpetrators have never been apprehended.

Be aware of what situations and behaviors give you pleasure. When you feel excessively sad and cannot change your attitude, make a conscious effort to take some action that might alleviate your sadness.

If you anticipate feeling sad, prepare a list of things that might make you feel better. It could be talking to a specific enthusiastic individual, running, taking a walk in a quiet area, looking at pictures of family, listening to music, or reading inspiring words.

While our attitude is a major factor in sadness, lack of positive external situations and events play an important role in how we feel.

[If a criminal has been executed by hanging] his body may not remain suspended overnight ... because it is an insult to God (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Rashi explains that since man was created in the image of God, anything that disparages man is disparaging God as well.

Chilul Hashem, bringing disgrace to the Divine Name, is one of the greatest sins in the Torah. The opposite of chilul Hashem is kiddush Hashem, sanctifying the Divine Name. While this topic has several dimensions to it, there is a living kiddush Hashem which occurs when a Jew behaves in a manner that merits the respect and admiration of other people, who thereby respect the Torah of Israel.

What is chilul Hashem? One Talmudic author stated, "It is when I buy meat from the butcher and delay paying him" (Yoma 86a). To cause someone to say that a Torah scholar is anything less than scrupulous in meeting his obligations is to cause people to lose respect for the Torah.

Suppose someone offers us a business deal of questionable legality. Is the personal gain worth the possible dishonor that we bring not only upon ourselves, but on our nation? If our personal reputation is ours to handle in whatever way we please, shouldn't we handle the reputation of our nation and the God we represent with maximum care?

Jews have given so much, even their lives, for kiddush Hashem. Can we not forego a few dollars to avoid chilul Hashem?

Today I shall...

be scrupulous in all my transactions and relationships to avoid the possibility of bringing dishonor to my God and people.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...